AWP stakes and prizes change imminent?
AN announcement from the DCMS about a review of stakes and prizes for AWP machines was expected either today or early next week, we understand.
Rumour was rife this week, varying between an award of 30p/£35 and 50p/£35. Both were viewed by the industry with considerable dismay, the former because it was only a marginal increase from the current 30p/£25 and the latter because the prize is no better than the old Gaming Board recommended unsuccessfully two years ago.
It is generally considered in the industry that the only improvement which will really go some way to resurrecting the AWP would be 50p/£50 which is fully justified not only by the fact that it is five years since the last review and probably three years before the next one, but also because the 'playing field' is currently so skewed by Section 16 in arcades and FOBTs in betting shops.
However, this is unlikely to register with the DCMS, it is thought. A 50p/£35 uplift would do no more than create a very temporary flurry before the AWP business resumed its dramatic decline.
The DCMS confirmed to ecoin-op that it is currently ‘considering representations for the industry’ over key policy issues, but would not confirm that it related to a review of stakes and prizes for AWP machines.
“We are currently undertaking further policy work in the area of gambling based on representations from the industry, but any suggested changes in policy are subject to the usual legal procedures, which can be complex and lengthy,” said the spokesperson.
Reflex looks to exports
HEDGING his bets, Quentin Stott at Reflex Gaming is looking hard at export markets in a bid to overcome the current downturn in the UK pending any relief in the form of a stakes and prizes review. He told InterGame that Reflex is ‘focusing heavily on product developments for markets outside of the UK.’
He sees the main British problems as no review for AWP machines, a saturated Section 16/21 market and increased taxation in club machines. “It leaves development companies scratching their heads about what to develop next.”
As Reflex is a small company, he felt confident that it would ‘ride the storm’ but not as confident about the UK providing such a major part of its business in the years to come. “We are also quite confident in our ability to seek out some opportunities which traditional manufacturers would not find commercial attractive.
We will keep upbeat and seek opportunities and then react quickly to them."
Empire grows in Hungary and UK
EMPIRE Games of Bridgend, South Wales, has entered into a partnership agreement with major Hungarian operating company Game Profil of Szentes, to supply it with a succession of AWP machines for the Hungarian market.
Empire will also release a second all-new Section 16 game for the UK market will be launched at the London Preview trade show this month. The company had a success with its first all-new machine, Ocean’s Eleven, and is following it up with Knight Fever, using the CMS Cyclops cabinet and a 27ins touchscreen monitor.
Capital gains Minnesota licence
CAPITAL Gaming, the Cardiff-based supplier of multiplayer automated casino games, has been granted a licence to supply machines to Minnesota - the second US state to approve the company after California. The licence will open up new opportunities for the company in Indian reservations. It currently has a major shipment of games going into Stanley Ho’s casinos in Macau. Two containers with 10, 15 and 18-seater roulettes are already ‘on the water’ and another shipment has just left the factory containing a 10-player roulette and an 18-player horse racing game using a 50ins plasma screen.
Sanken plans Bridgend move
THE major producer of power supplies and semi-conductors to the UK gaming machine industry, Sanken, is about to close its factory in Abercynon, South Wales, and relocate 40 miles away at Bridgend. The company will open a European Design Technology Centre at Bridgend’s Industrial Estate, while output of components switches to a new factory in Hungary. The move to Bridgend will take place in December.
Source: eCoinOp UK
Monday, September 18, 2006
Friday, September 08, 2006
Destroy all your S16's? + More News
Stakes fail to lift AWPs
THE industry this week feared the worst - an uplift in stakes and prizes to 30p and £35, which almost everyone regards as of little or no help at all to the suffering AWP industry. Haemorrhaging their pub AWP customers to the greater payouts of Section 16 in arcades or the hard gambling of video roulette posing as fixed odds betting machines in bookies' shops, the industry is crossing its fingers that the current talks between industry leaders and the Gambling Commission/DCMS does not correspond to the gloomy predictions of those who purport to 'know.'
The old Gaming Board recommended 30p/£35 two years ago and the industry might reasonably expect an uplift on those figures to try to partially correct an uneven playing field so tipped in the favour of FOBTs as to be grossly unfair.
After sticking on 20p/£25 for five years - and with the certainty to be told 'and don't come back for at least three years" when an uplift is announced, the least the industry should expect is 50p/£50. A review was originally planned for September of next year, but the AWP industry has virtually died, forcing both sides to the negotiating table.
Sega unveils major new games
OVER 100 guests joined Paul Williams and his Sega Europe team at a distributor meeting in London yesterday to witness the unveiling of the company's new games for 2006. The big launch of the day saw the gruesome expose of the House of the Dead 4 motion theatre. This sequel to the House of the Dead theme reveals new characters and storylines which will keep the House of the Dead theme alive and kicking for the next generation. Features include a unique air blast into players' faces and necks to maximise the fear potential. There is now recoil on the machine gun in addition to the grenade button and an action button to help players escape.
New to the After Burner range is After Burner Climax, powered by Sega's new Lindbergh board. This comes in deluxe and super deluxe models. Climax mode allows players to "fly in Mach speed as though going beyond the speed of sound." During Climax mode enemies fly in slow motion providing the player with the chance of making a hit. After Burner Climax features linked play and over 20 game stages.
Sega also previewed its sequel to the popular OutRun range - the 2SP SDX model, Outrun2 Special Tours, with 62ins wide screens and motion based cars. The Ferrari Special Tours experience incorporates the Lindbergh board, many new features and can be played by between one and eight people. Numerous other plans and upgrades were also unveiled to Sega distributors, details of which can be seen in the next issue of InterGame.
Pictured at the Sega Amusements Europe distributor meeting yesterday are (left to right): John Oram, executive director of Arlington Leisure, Sega's sales manager, Aaron Gilbey, Sega Amusements' chief, Paul Williams and David Hurst from Crown Leisure.
Future unclear for S16 machines
ALTHOUGH it is not yet certain how many Section 16 games an arcade will be permitted this time next year - four is the most quoted estimate - one of the most talked about aspects is what will happen to the balance. With around 12,000 of the games currently in the market, and most arcades stocking them in numbers, it is estimated that the market will become a 25 per cent replacement business very quickly, but that 6-7,000 games will become redundant in the shake-out. The best guess is that most operators will want to 'kit' them as category C (AWP Section 34) machines, creating an immediate rebuild market, while considerable numbers of the remainder will be crushed or converted for export to eastern Europe.
Source: eCoinOp UK
THE industry this week feared the worst - an uplift in stakes and prizes to 30p and £35, which almost everyone regards as of little or no help at all to the suffering AWP industry. Haemorrhaging their pub AWP customers to the greater payouts of Section 16 in arcades or the hard gambling of video roulette posing as fixed odds betting machines in bookies' shops, the industry is crossing its fingers that the current talks between industry leaders and the Gambling Commission/DCMS does not correspond to the gloomy predictions of those who purport to 'know.'
The old Gaming Board recommended 30p/£35 two years ago and the industry might reasonably expect an uplift on those figures to try to partially correct an uneven playing field so tipped in the favour of FOBTs as to be grossly unfair.
After sticking on 20p/£25 for five years - and with the certainty to be told 'and don't come back for at least three years" when an uplift is announced, the least the industry should expect is 50p/£50. A review was originally planned for September of next year, but the AWP industry has virtually died, forcing both sides to the negotiating table.
Sega unveils major new games
OVER 100 guests joined Paul Williams and his Sega Europe team at a distributor meeting in London yesterday to witness the unveiling of the company's new games for 2006. The big launch of the day saw the gruesome expose of the House of the Dead 4 motion theatre. This sequel to the House of the Dead theme reveals new characters and storylines which will keep the House of the Dead theme alive and kicking for the next generation. Features include a unique air blast into players' faces and necks to maximise the fear potential. There is now recoil on the machine gun in addition to the grenade button and an action button to help players escape.
New to the After Burner range is After Burner Climax, powered by Sega's new Lindbergh board. This comes in deluxe and super deluxe models. Climax mode allows players to "fly in Mach speed as though going beyond the speed of sound." During Climax mode enemies fly in slow motion providing the player with the chance of making a hit. After Burner Climax features linked play and over 20 game stages.
Sega also previewed its sequel to the popular OutRun range - the 2SP SDX model, Outrun2 Special Tours, with 62ins wide screens and motion based cars. The Ferrari Special Tours experience incorporates the Lindbergh board, many new features and can be played by between one and eight people. Numerous other plans and upgrades were also unveiled to Sega distributors, details of which can be seen in the next issue of InterGame.
Pictured at the Sega Amusements Europe distributor meeting yesterday are (left to right): John Oram, executive director of Arlington Leisure, Sega's sales manager, Aaron Gilbey, Sega Amusements' chief, Paul Williams and David Hurst from Crown Leisure.
Future unclear for S16 machines
ALTHOUGH it is not yet certain how many Section 16 games an arcade will be permitted this time next year - four is the most quoted estimate - one of the most talked about aspects is what will happen to the balance. With around 12,000 of the games currently in the market, and most arcades stocking them in numbers, it is estimated that the market will become a 25 per cent replacement business very quickly, but that 6-7,000 games will become redundant in the shake-out. The best guess is that most operators will want to 'kit' them as category C (AWP Section 34) machines, creating an immediate rebuild market, while considerable numbers of the remainder will be crushed or converted for export to eastern Europe.
Source: eCoinOp UK
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